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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2026; 32(15): 115226
Published online Apr 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i15.115226
Published online Apr 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i15.115226
High-frequency irreversible electroporation synergizes with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor BMS-1 and TLR7/8 agonist R848 to potentiate liver cancer antitumor immunity
Shi-Ming Huang, Xiao-Bo Zhang, Xiao Zhang, Ying-Tian Wei, Hui Sun, Zhen-Jun Wang, Hong-Jian Shi, Yue-Yong Xiao, Department of Radiology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
Shi-Ming Huang, Jing Li, Guo-Hui Zhang, Characteristic Medical Center of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Pingjin Hospital, Tianjin 300162, China
Shi-Ming Huang, Jing Li, Guo-Hui Zhang, Integrative Medical Center, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Li Ma, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hos
Di-Xiao Yao, Medical Imaging Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar 161006, Heilongjiang Province, China
Hong-Jian Shi, Department of Radiology, Hospital of Jiangxi Provincial Corps, Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Nanchang 330030, Jiangxi Province, China
Ti Wang, Department of Radiology, The Third Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100089, China
Author contributions: Huang SM performed the experiments and wrote the manuscript, and made crucial and indispensable contributions to the completion of the project; Zhang XB provided insight into experimental design and assisted with data interpretation; Li J participated in partial experiments and assisted with basic manuscript drafting; Zhang GH, Zhang X, Wei YT, Sun H, and Ma L acquired the research data and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; Wang ZJ, Yao DX, Shi HJ, and Wang T conducted the statistical analysis and supervised the entire study; Xiao YY played an important and indispensable role in the experimental design, data interpretation and manuscript preparation as the corresponding author. All authors contributed to the refinement of the study protocol and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The animal study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Yi Shengyuan Gene Technology (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., No. YSY-DWLL-2024756.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: All data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Yue-Yong Xiao, Department of Radiology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China.
Received: October 14, 2025
Revised: December 8, 2025
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: April 21, 2026
Processing time: 185 Days and 18.3 Hours
Revised: December 8, 2025
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: April 21, 2026
Processing time: 185 Days and 18.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: High-frequency irreversible electroporation potently triggers immunogenic cell death within tumors. In combination with BMS-1 and R848, this multimodal strategy not only curbs tumor progression but also dynamically reprograms the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Specifically, it augments the infiltration of CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ T cells, CD11c+ CD80+ CD86+ dendritic cells, and F4/80+ CD11b+ CD86+ M1 macrophages, while depleting immunosuppressive subsets such as CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells and F4/80+ CD11b+ CD206+ M2 macro